Features

New light microscopes developed by Yale cell biologists are helping researchers unravel the complexities of human biology.

In
1974,
the
late
George
E.
Palade,
Ph.D.,
chair
of
Yale’s
newly
formed
cell
biology
department,
shared
a
Nobel
Prize
in
physiology
or
medicine
for
using
electron
microscopy
to
elucidate
the
inner
workings
of
cells—groundbreaking
findings
that
some
say
ushered
in
the
modern
field
of
cell
biology.
But
although
the
electron
microscope
opened
new
avenues
of
research,
it
had
a
huge
drawback
as
a
tool
for
studying
life:
it
can
observe
cells
only
after
they
are
dead,
treated
with
special
fixatives,
and
sliced
into
thin
sections
or
coated
in
a
layer
of
metal.
The
grayscale
world
pictured
in
such
detail
in
electron
micrographs,
while
powerful,
is
“a...